Dear Mr Gee, I read your article in the Canowindra Phoenix on 25 February 2021 in support of the 500 medical professionals soon to be vaccinating our aged and disabled residents against COVID-19 stating that, “the vaccine is the beginning of the end of this pandemic.” Please answer the following questions which arise from this statement:
1. Is it ethical to first inject the people most vulnerable to the vaccine’s adverse effects, ie. elderly, which was the mistake they just made in Norway?
2. Does the vaccine prevent us from catching and transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to others?
3. Will taking the vaccine affect our obligations for masking, social distancing and quarantining?
4. Was the vaccine tested on cats and ferrets as they did with the mRNA vaccines for SARS and MERS, including exposing them to the virus after vaccination?
5. Could the vaccine alter us in ways that could make us more vulnerable to future viruses (known as Antibody Dependent Enhancement)?
6. Given that new variants are constantly being found, could we have to take the vaccine often, like the flu vaccine?
7. How many Australians have actually had symptomatic COVID-19?
8. As asymptomatic cases are now known to be non-contagious, could it be better to only test and quarantine symptomatic cases and prioritise their contact tracing?
9. Could high cycle threshold PCR testing lead to many false positives (as recently stated by the World Health Organisation)?
10. Is the cycle threshold used for Australian PCR testing publicly available?
11. Are doctors overseas successfully using treatments that are being suppressed by the Australian Government?
12. Are the vaccine manufacturers immune from litigation in the case of severe side effects?
As our Federal Member, I implore you to give simple yes or no answers to us, so that we can make an informed decision whether or not to take your advice.
Sam Statham
Canowindra